◆ Pacific League: Softbank Hawks vs. Rakuten Eagles (16th, Mizuho PayPay Stadium)

Softbank Hawks pitcher Haru Matsumoto pitched brilliantly, allowing no runs in five innings. He left the game with the chance to earn his eighth win, a new personal best.

In the first inning, he allowed infield hit to lead-off hitter Nakajima, who then stolen base second base, but he shut down the subsequent batters to keep the runs at 0. On this day, slider was sharp in addition to his fastball, and he kept zeros on the scoreboard. He allowed only two hit in five innings. In the fifth inning, with two outs and runners on first and second base, Kondo hit a timely single to right field to score the first run.

With the lead extended into the sixth inning, Tsumori took the mound. The team will use a relief pitching strategy to try and hold on to the lead and prevent a third consecutive loss against the same opponent.